Active or toxic spray material



Patented June 11, 1935 ACTIVE B TOXIC SPRAY MATEBIAL Edmund L. Green, Washington, D. 0., dedicated 'to the free use of the Government and the People of the United States No Drawing; Application September 16, 1932,

Serial No. 633,464

1 Claim. (01. 167-16) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of March slaked quick lime (calcium hydroxide). All the 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April '30, 1928, dissolved copper is or should be made insoluble and the invention herein described may be manuduring this process, and the resulting precipitate factured and used by or for the Government for is sprayed or dusted upon the plant to be pro- 5 governmental purposes without the payment to tected. It is known that by the time the copper 5 me of any royalty thereon. compound reaches the foliage it is in a state of I hereby dedicate the same to the free use of chemical combination which is described as a the Government and the people of the United ba c Su 0f DD I- 0f the compounds of con- States. per I have found that copper silicate in a purified My invention is of a new substance capable of state should be used. I 10 being applied toplants as a suspension either in As an example of the application of this new water 'as a spray, or in air as a dust. When so material as a fungicid to be pp d as 8 p ay applied it serves the useful purpose of protecting I y take from One to Sixteen Po ds of t the plant to which it is applied from the attacks finely ground copper silicate .and an equal or of harmful micro-organisms such as certain fungi greater quantity either of calcined lime, weighed 15 known to cause certain plant diseases. out dry and'slaked beforehand, or hydrated lime Agricultural plants are commonly protected procured as such, and a suitable quantity of an i against the attacks of the fungi that cause plant insecticide if desired: for exampl two P u ds of diseases by placing upon the plant in any suitable lead arsenate, suspend all these ingredients in so manner acoating of a material which,-while causn hun all ns of w ter nd apply wi h a ing as little harm as possible to the agricultural Sp y machine to a y agricultural plants it is plant, nevertheless prevents the growth and dedesired to protec With DD -b -1' 8 fun velopment of the spores of such disease-producing Gide from the attacks o the spores of Pathogenic fungi as may subsequently fall or otherwise atfu tach themselves to the surface of the plant, or As another example of a fungicide c ta 25 preferably causes these spores to die. The object Copper Silicate to be pp 8- P Y, I y of checking the growth of the spores of the fungi, ake from one to Sixteen Pounds f copper Silicate, which are themselves a sort of plant, without from two to thirty-two pounds of lime, either causing excessive damage to the agricultural calcined lime weighed out dry and slaked before- 3 plants sought to be protected is diflicult of attainhand, hydrated lime procured 88 Such, f

' ment. It is the constant endeavor of experifive to twenty pounds of bentonite (see my comenters working on these problems to improve Pending application 633,463 fi d September the compounds and substances available for this 2) d a Suitable qu y 0f se c d if purpose, either by reducing the damage to the ages f0 p two to ten Pounds I lead 5 ricultural (or host plants or by-increasing their arsenate. All these ing a in be 115- destructive effect upon the disease organisms. pended in one hundred 88110113 Water d P- Certain conclusions may be drawn from the sucpliediwith y p y device machine to a y cessful fungicides now in use. For example the agricultural Plants it is es to Protect W preparation known as Bordeaux mixture, has a a copper-bearing u c d r m he tacks of 40 long record of successful use, and it is known thatthe p s Pathogenic u 40 its harmful effect upon fungous diseases is due to As an mpl f a fu id pr parati n conthe fact that it contains copper. It is also known taming pp Silicate to be applied 85 a dust with that it is very insoluble in water, but that if in a blower, I may take one hundred Parts finely any way it is made soluble after it has been apground hy t d lime by weight, ten to twenty plied there is severe damage to the host plant. It parts by weight of c pp Silicate, a Su tab e 45 would therefore appear that a copper compound quantity of an insecticide if desired; for a p that would be less readily dissolved by the plant fi to twenty parts y Weight of lead a enate, and at least as readily by the secretions of .the decal ium rs t r zin ar ni Th in rediveloping fungous spores should be more suitable entS are to be thoroughly mixed and ppl ed with than Bordeaux mixturein certain cases where the any suitable dusting machine to y Plants t is 50 application of Bordeaux mixture must be avoided desired to protect from the attacks of the spores on account of causing too much damage to the of pathogenic fungi witha copper-bearing fungihost plant. Now Bordeaux mixture is madeup cide. v i by mixing together varying proportions of a solu- As another; example of a fungicide preparation g tion of copper sulfate and of a suspension of containing cbpper silicate to be applied as a dust 55 with a blower, I may take one hundred parts by weight of finely ground hydrated lime, ten to twenty parts by weight of copper silicate, a suitable quantity of a material found to improve the adherence or weather-resisting properties of the dust such as one to twenty parts by weight of finely ground dry casein or a preparation containing the same as one of its ingredients, and a suitable quantity of an insecticide if desired; for example, five to twenty parts by weight of lead arsenate, calcium arsenate or zinc arsenite, or one half to ten parts by weight of a suitable preparation containing nicotine as one of its ingredients. The ingredients are to be finely ground, thoroughly mixed, and applied with any suitable dusting machine to any plants it is desired to protect by means of a copper-bearing fungicide from the attacks of the spores of pathogenic fungi.

Although in the examples given above I have indicated ways of applying this patent that have been found to be useful and suitable and free to a large extent from narrow restrictions in the proportions of the various ingredients, I do by no means restrict myself to them nor exclude myself from the use of other ingredients and proportions of the same and other spreaders, such as bentonites, other colloidal clays, soaps, glues, saponaceous materials, materials other than soaps proteinaceous materials, and other materials well known in the present state of the art to be useful and suitable for this purpose, nor from combinations containing copper silicate and other well known insecticides and fungicides.

Copper silicate'as described in this patent may also be used as an ingredient 01 a wound dressing in the treatment of large wounds of trees and shrubs resulting from accident or from necessary operations such as pruning. Because of the small danger of damage due to soluble copper when it is used there are few restrictions upon the nature and proportions of the other ingredients it may be combined with, except that it is safer to have some active calcium oxide, hydroxide or carbonate present. For this purpose copper silicate may be combined with tars or asphalts either occurring naturally or resulting from the distillation of wood, coal or oil, with oils, greases, fats or waxes, whether natural or artificial, with gums, resins, and pastes or with drying oils or paints. Thickening agents such as those named above may be even omitted altogether, and a mixture of copper silicate and lime suspended in water, glycerol or the like or mixtures of the same and applied to the wound. Insecticides may be added if desired.

I claim:

A plant spray, comprising copper silicate and EDMUND L. GREEN.

- lime. 

